Favorite Frankenstein Films

I'll start with mine:

1. The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Dir. James Whale. This is the pinnacle of horror, and one of the greatest movies ever made, because it has everything: Bathos, pathos, brilliant direction by the great Whale, Karloff's finest performance as the talking monster, excellent support from Valerie Hobson, Colin Clive, E.E. Clive, Una O'Connor and, of course, Ernest Thesiger, who almost steals the movie as the deliriously immoral Dr. Pretorius. A rich vein of dry humor enlightens the film, as do many unforgettable scenes and a terrific score.

2. Frankenstein (1931) Dir. James Whale. The original firmly established Karloff as the ultra-frightening monster and debuted a great Universal supporting cast--Dwight Fry, E.E. Clive, Colin Clive, all giving their best. Superb Expressionist sets, excellent scripts, brilliant filming. Almost as good as "The Bride."

3. Son of Frankenstein (1939) Dir. Rowland V. Lee. Third and last of the Frank films to star Karloff as the monster. Elegant Basil Rathbone stars as the original Frankenstein's son. getting a chilly reception from villagers as he's enticed by Ygor (Bela Lugosi in a stellar turn) to make his big "friend" well. Donnie Dunagan, as Rathbone's son, adds excitement and drama as the monstor stalks him. Bizarre sets, but a bit on the talky side.

4. Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) Dir. Erle C. Kenton. A host of mostly forgettable Franksploitation films popped up after the original trio. This is the best of the bunch because Universal assembled a fine cast, including Cedric Hartwicke as Ludwig F., Lon Chaney in his debut as the monster, Lionel Atwill, Ralph Bellamy and Lugosi, who dominates this movie as Ygor, scheming to substitute his brain into the monster's body and getting treacherous Atwill to go along. Nice subtheme with a little girl befriending the monster. Not bad at all.

The Hammer Franks didn't do anything for me. Nor did the "House of..." movies that combined Frank, Drac and Wolfie.

Yours?

I've only seen FRANKENSTEIN (1931) and THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) and I prefer FRANKENSTEIN over BRIDE.

bride of frankenstein because we hear the monster talk.

Great list Turnbull. Going to order Son of Frankenstein.

Ah, now we're in Vitelli Territory (where you'll be safe ).

I'll have to give this one a bit of thought, but on the subject of Bride of Frankenstein, I remember reading an interview with Boris Karloff years ago in which he said he didn't like the idea of the Monster speaking at all. "The speech...stupid!" opined Karloff. He said that at that point the Monster should either "take the mick or play it straight." He said that some of the Monster's appeal was that he was "this great, lumbering, inarticulate" creature.

(Note: "Taking the mick/mickey" is an expression - primarily used in the UK - meaning to poke fun at someone or something.)

However, Karloff may have also had a faulty memory - his recollection of why the scene where the Monster tosses little Maria into the lake (in the original 1931 Frankenstein) was wrong: Karloff claimed that he wanted to gently toss the girl into the water as if she was a flower, but that director James Whale had him pick her up over his head (here he made a violent motion with both hands) and hurl her. As I recall, Karloff claimed that since they couldn't come to an agreement, they agreed to cut the scene. Well, now that the film has been restored we know that Karloff did, in fact, gently toss the girl into the water and not violently throw her in.

I believe the interview was in an early '60s issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland magazine (possibly "Meal With a Monster") of maybe Castle of Frankenstein. My collection is in storage so I can't access it, but I have a good memory for this stuff.

As I said, I'll have to give this a bit more thought, but I have a soft spot for the 1910 Thomas Edison version. Charles Ogle rules!



There are a lot of poor copies on the Net; this was the best one I found. The quality is actually quite good!


Signor V.

thanks, that is really pretty good!

What, nobody's mentioned Frankenhooker?


Signor V.

What..Signor??..U think were all stupid???LOL...Frankenhooker stars the 1 & only wife of Mr. Bob Guccione , & Pet of year Patti Mullen..... ...I know my back in the day pets & playmates..any questions?